Hello everybody! I'm Dallas. I'm 29, was raised Christian, but it never settled well with me. My father is a preacher, and the expectations of my family were that I would also become a Christian minister. I enrolled in seminary, and a couple of months in couldn't find any faith to continue. I spent the next 10 years after that with no faith, but a lot of anger at religion in general. A couple of years ago I discovered Buddhism, and the concepts resonated with me, but it's only recently that I've begun to seriously follow the Eightfold Path and practice meditation.

I'm hoping these forums will help me connect with a sangha I am currently lacking. I'm moving to Bangkok, Thailand in 5 days, so hopefully that situation will improve soon, but I'd still like to have an online community to share wisdom with.I hope to know many of you before it's over, so please welcome me to your community.

Yes - I find it's good to have both a physical and online Sangha to the extent that is possible, as both can provide support/engagement/assistance in different ways.

Unfortunately I find it difficult to maintain regular contact with a physical Sangha due to geography, but if you're in Bangkok, you will have no such trouble!

Metta,Retro.

"When we transcend one level of truth, the new level becomes what is true for us. The previous one is now false. What one experiences may not be what is experienced by the world in general, but that may well be truer. (Ven. Nanananda)

“I hope, Anuruddha, that you are all living in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes.” (MN 31)

The heart of the path is SO simple. No need for long explanations. Give up clinging to love and hate, just rest with things as they are. That is all I do in my own practice. Do not try to become anything. Do not make yourself into anything. Do not be a meditator. Do not become enlightened. When you sit, let it be. When you walk, let it be. Grasp at nothing. Resist nothing. Of course, there are dozens of meditation techniques to develop samadhi and many kinds of vipassana. But it all comes back to this - just let it all be. Step over here where it is cool, out of the battle. - Ajahn Chah